Joseph g



(No Model.)

J. o. MULLER & o. o. A. LONG.

WIRE FENCE.

N0.'580,502. Patented Apr.. 13, 1897..

Wifgesszs IINrTEn STATES PATENT EEicE.

JOSEPH O. MULLER AND OLIVER O. A. LONG, OF MARYLAND, ILLINOIS.

WIRE FENCE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 580,502, dated April 13, 189'?. Application iiled September 30, 1396. Serial No. 607,477. (No model.)

To' all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JOSEPH C. MULLER and OLIVER O. A. LONG, citizens of the United States, residing at Maryland, in the county of Ogle and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Wire Fence, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to wire fences, and particularly to a stay for connecting the runners of a fence, the object in view being to provide a stay having flexibility to allow independent lateral yielding ofthe runners and adapted to distribute excessive strains to prevent disarrangement, and, furthermore, to employ a common connection between the contiguous extremities of adjoining stay-sections and the adjacent runners, whereby the engagement of the open eye of one stay-section with the closed eye of the adjoining section may be accomplished simultaneously with the engagement of said stay-sections with the runner.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will appear in the following description, and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure l is a view of a portion of a fence, showing a stay embodying our invention applied in ythe operative position thereto. Fig. 2 is a detail view in perspective of a portion of the improved stay and the contiguous` portion of a runner. Fig. 3 is a similar view of one of the links as arranged before application to the fence or as manufactured.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

l designates fence-runners connected by a sectional stay 2, constructed in accordance with our invention, the sections being provided with terminal interlocking eyes 3 and 4. Each stay-section is provided, as shown in Fig. 3, with a closed eye 4 at one end and an open eye 3 at the other end, whereby in applying the stay-sections to a fence the open eye of one section is arranged contiguous to the closed eye of the adjoining section, said open eye being engaged with the closed eye. The closed eye is preferably constructed by doubling the extremity of the stay-section upon itself to form a D-shaped loop and coiling or Wrapping the terminal around the straight body portion of the section. body portion is extended in a straight line through the coil or wrap to form one side of the loop, whereby the straight side of the loop is in alinement with the body portion of the section. The curved side of the loop is of irregular form, whereby the space inclosed between the same and the straight side is reduced toward the terminal of the section and is slightly widened or enlarged toward its inner end.

The open eye 3 at the opposite end of the stay-section is formed in a similar manner-to the eye 4, but in manufacturing the stay the extremity thereof, after folding it to form the eye, is left free, as indicated in Fig. 3. The extremity is not coiled or wrapped around the body or straight portion of the stay-section until after the engagement of the open eye with'the closed eye of the adjoining section, the manner of engagement consisting in threading the extremity of the eye 3 through the eye 4 of the adjacent section and also passing said eye 3 around "the contiguous runner.

The loops 3 and 4 are arranged at right angles to each other, and each projects laterally from the straight or body portion of the stay-section, whereby when the loops at the adjacent ends of adjoining stay-sections are interlocked the straight or body portions of said sections are arranged approximately in alinement, thus equalizing or distributing the strain and producing a structure with the opposite sides of uniform appearance and strength.

The reduction of the loops in width toward their outer or remote ends forms a seat in the end of each loop for engagement with the loop of the adjacent stayesection, while the enlarged or widened inner portions of the loops 3 serve to accommodate the runners, whereby the upper loop 4 of a stay-section is located below the adjacent runner and is free to move with relation to the engaging loop 3 of the adjacent upper stay-section without affecting said runner.

A further advantage of the specific form of stay-section above described resides in the Saidy IOO from lateral displacement upon the fence by the frictional contact of the terminal eyes with said irregular-surfaced runners. The necessary frictional contact may be produced by tightening` the terminal eyes upon the uppermost and lowermost runners. It is desirable, on the other hand, to allow freedom of movement of the intermediate eyes 3 upon the intermediate runners, and hence in applying the stay the eyes 3 are preferably not tightened sufficiently to prevent such movement.

Having described our invention, what we claim is- 1. The combination with fence-runners, of,

a sectional stay having a section arranged between the pla-nes of each two contiguous runners and provided with terminal D-shaped loops or eyes, the straight sides of said loops or eyes being in alinement with the body portion of the section and the loops or eyes being arranged to project laterally from the sides of said straight body portion at right angles to each other wherebyl the body portions of adjoining stay-sections are arranged approximately in alinement, the lower loop or eye of each section engaging the adjacent runner and the contiguous upper eye of the adjoining section, substantially as specified.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a fencestay section provided at one end with a closed D-shaped eye formed by doubling the body portion of the stay upon itself and coiling the .extremity around said body portion, and at the other end with an open D-shaped eye of which the extremity is adapted to be coiled around the body portion after the engagement of the open eye with a runner and the contiguous closed eye of an adjoining section, substantially as specified.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our own we have hereto affixed our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

JOSEPH C. MULLER. OLIVER O. A. LONG.

Witnesses:

CHAs. NEwcoMER, R. D. MCCLURE. 

